Not Much Has Changed

[S-J-L]

Not much has changed since being gluten free for about 8 months. Im still really tired,and my constipation went away for a while, but now its returning. I have slipped up a couple of times with my diet though, but the rest of time im strictly gluten free. I get gastritis and heartburn alot now, im only 21. Ive put on 2 kg, but im still only about 48.5kg (around 110 pound) and 5'8.

What do i do?? Im pretty sure im not lactose intolerant.

Now im getting lumps on the back of my neck. Apparently the 1st one was a swollen lymph node, and it went away with antibiotics. Now i have another one! Maybe i just have constant infections that i dont know about.

Ideas??

[ravenwoodglass]

The first thing you need to do is to drop the dairy for a bit. The same villi that are damaged by gluten also are needed to digest dairy. They may not recover until you drop the dairy. You can add dairy back in after a couple of months and see if it is then tolerated. Most can add it back in after they have healed.

How much processed food are you eating? Not all companies tell you about CC issues. Frito Lay is a excellent example of this. Almost nothing they make is actually gluten free because of the processing. Most of us can tolerate the plain chips but most of the other items are like playing roulette. They will be okay one time but not the next. If you can go with whole unprocessed food for a bit that will help you heal. Do you live with gluten eaters? If you do you need to be a bear about CC issues if you are not already. Do you take any meds? The labeling laws do not apply to meds. You need to check the gluten statis of any med you take both over the counter, script, supplements and herbs. How about all your toiletries, shampoos, lotions and makeup? Those need to be gluten free also.

The lymph system helps to clear antibodies out of our systems. Many of us have swollen glands from the bodies fight against gluten and its antibody reaction. This is likely why lymphoma is more common in celiacs that have been undiagnosed for many years. It can take a very long time for the lymph glands to go down.

Do you take a sublingual B12? If you don't be sure to get some, that will help with the fatigue. Those same villi that are damaged are needed to form the factor that allows your body to absorb and utilize the B12 from regular supplements or food so make sure that the B12 is sublingual (dissolves under the tongue and absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes in your mouth)

[ShayFL]

Good advice from Raven. And get your Thyroid, Ferritin, Vit D checked while you are at it. There are so many things that can need to be addressed with Celiac.